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Ford's U.S. Light-Vehicle Sales
Increased by 11% in December

By

Angelo B. Henderson and

Robert L. SimisonStaff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Jan. 7, 1997 12:01 a.m. ET

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. posted an 11% increase in U.S. light-vehicle sales in December, thanks largely to heavy retail incentives and fleet sales that the company used to ensure it retained several vehicle-segment sales crowns.

Ford's December sales of 299,592 cars and light trucks included a 44% surge in deliveries of the midsize Taurus and a 19% increase in sales of its F-series pickup trucks. The two vehicles held onto their crowns as the best-selling car and truck in the U.S., and Ford said it again finished 1996 with...